Tirumala
Tirumala, A unique divine place with Lord Venkateswara temple in Kaliyuga. Also known with different names Lord Srinivasa, Lord Govinda, and Lord Balaji. Lord Venkateswara temple is located on the range of Seven Hills called Seshachalam range. Seven hills are Seshadri, Neeladri, Garudadri, Anjanadri, Vrushabadri, Narayanadri and Venkatadri. Lord Venkateswara temple is located on Narayanadri hill.
How to get to Tirumala
Step 1: Reach Tirupati
Option #1 : Take a flight to Tirupati Airport (TIR)
Tirupati Airport is a public international airport at Renigunta, part of Tirupati in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.
Step 2: Tirupati to Tirumala
Again you have multiple options.
Option #1 : Take the ghat road in Car/Taxi/Bus up to the hill, around 22 kms. Buses are very cheap and there are buses every 15 min to tirumala, fare 30Rs & takes around 1 hr. There are 2 roads to Tirumala and they are used one for going up and one for going down. Route to Tirumala is scenic and there are water falls and streams along the road.
Option #2 : Walk to Tirumala.
There are 2 walking paths one from Alipiri and another Srivari mettu. Alipiri to Tirumala is around 11kms with 3550 steps. There are some plain road in this route. Second option Srivari mettu, originates at Srinivasa Mangapuram, about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Tirupati. It is 2.1 kilometres (1.3 mi) long.[20] This trail has 2400 steps and is shorter than Alipiri Metlu path.
Note: Driving a two wheeler down the hill is lot of fun. There are around 30+ hairpin bends.
Temple Surroundings in Tirumala
TTD – Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthnam
Darshan
Once you reach Tirumala, time to do Lord Venkateswara Swamy Darshan.
Option #1: Just Darshan
- Free Darshan is available for all piligrams. (You can reserve the free darshan time from many locations like Tirupathi busstand, railway station, TTD booking offices etc.,)
- Paid Darshan (There are tickets you can purchase with different price)
Option #2 : Darshan along with some Seva
- Kalyanotsavam
- Unjal Seva (Unjal = Swing)
- Thomala Seva
- Ekantha Seva
and many more…Check the Tirumala Tirupati devasthanam website for up to date details.
Prasadam
Tirumala Sri Venkateswara Swamy Prasadam is Ladoo . You can get Ladhoo based on your Darshan tickets and Sevas.
Don’t miss it… they are really tasty.:)
Hair offerings
There is a story behind the hair offering to Lord.
Story:
When Lord Srinivasa was hit by a shepard on his head, a small portion of his scalp became bald. There is no hair growth and this was noticed by princess Neeladevi. She felt that such a handsome face should not have any mark and she cuts a portion of her hair and implants on his scalp with her powers. As hair is considered as beauty for women, lord Srinivasa realizes the sacrifice. He says to Neeladevi that all the hair offered in Tirumala by devotees will belong to her.The word Thalanelalu came from her name.
Giving our hair to god is the symbol of leaving our Ego.
Location:
– Kalyanakatta is the multi story building where devotees can go and give their hair. This service is provided free of charge.
– This service is also offered at some cottages where the barber will come and do the hair offering procedure.
Some Tips :
- Enjoy the beauty of Tirumala by walking around early in the mornings. You can touch the clouds and enjoy the hill station . You will see people all night going in fresh cloths to temple for different darshans.
- Buy some fresh flowers from a seller in the morning and enjoy those.
- Small tea stalls opens all night for serving piligrams.
- Most of the cottages have hot water round of clock to freshen you in the night during cold weather. If not in the cottage people do sell hot water(some people live on that as their lively hood) .
- Buy some raw mangoes with spice on it and enjoy!!!
- Another tasty street food not to miss is fresh Bhel mix…
- Don’t miss Thali (A full plate meal with multiple curries in a small cups) in one of the restaurants (It used to be Mayuri way back, don’t know the latest..)
- As a students in SVU engineering college we enjoyed the fast Darshan that is provided for students.
- Sit on the big stairs in front of the temple and watch the different things happening. Special programs around the street (Called Mada vedi around Srivari temple), people in the queue, Unjal Seva in the evening and many more…
Silathoranam – Natural Arch
Located 1 km north of the Tirumala hills temple, near the Chakra Teertham.
Surrounding Places in Tirumala
Sri Vari Padalu
It is the very place where Lord Venkateswara set his feet first. It is the first place on the Narayanagiri Hills, one of the seven divine hills, where his sacred feet touched the ground. Narayanagiri Hills is said to be the highest hill among all the Tirumala Hills.
Veda Patasala – Dharmagiri
You can go visit the Veda Vignana petam at Dharmagiri. I have visited this place once and there are so many kids who are putting their effort to learn Vedas. They all look so dedicated to learn the Hindu Vedas.
Chakra Theertham
Situated at a distance of 2 Kms from Tirumala Bus Station & 3 km from Tirumala Tirupati Balaji Temple, Chakra Theertham is the site for a water body near Sila Thornam and is associated with an interesting legend. According to the legend, Lord Brahma wanted to observe penance and to clean this place, Lord Vishnu plunged his Sudershana Chakram, thus creating a crater. It is one of the famous places of sightseeing in Tirumala.
Visiting this site is considered as good as touching the Lotus Feet of the Lord, which will deliver the devotees from their travails. The waterfall here is an amazing sight to behold and is the location where the idol of Lord Venkateswara is brought during the Brahmotsvam celebrations.
Papavinasanam Dam
Papavinasanam is one of the sacred and prominent theertham located in Tirumala. According to Srivari Puranam A holy bath in this theertham will purify the sins of the devotees and bless with peace , prosperity and progress. I visited this place when there is a water falls. Now they have built the small water flow for devotees to take bath.